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Even at 41, There’s No Telling How Much Longer Pete Spratt Will Fight

After 14 years and more than 50 MMA bouts, former UFC welterweight Pete “Secret Weapon” Spratt continues to fight for one simple reason, for the love of the sport.

“I didn’t think I’d still be going, but I feel good,” said Spratt to MMAWeekly.com. “I’ve been training with the younger guys and am still getting to them pretty good. I love my sport and I love what I do and I’m just enjoying myself right now.

“I finished 2011 with a win in Montreal in December and then won again in April. I’ve had a few ups and downs, but I’ve won three of my last four fights, so I think it’s going good.”

Having been in the fight game for so long, Spratt continues to try to grow, but understands who he is as a fighter and the limitations he faces.

“(I make) little refinements,” he said. “It’s nothing majorly different. I continue to work on my wrestling, takedown defense and stuff like that. But for the most part for me it’s just staying healthy through the training camp and getting the best I can out of this old body.”

Spratt will need to use all his ability when he faces one of his most complete opponents to date on Friday in San Antonio, Texas, at Legacy FC 17 against Dan “Handler” Hornbuckle live on AXS TV.

“Dan’s a very, very solid guy,” said Spratt. “I wouldn’t say he’s great at one thing, but very good at everything. I’ve got my work cut out for me, especially with as tall as he is, the reach that he has and the weight that he is.”

When asked if he felt Hornbuckle would present a good gauge to where he is at in this point of his career, the 41-year-old Spratt replied, “Every fight – especially at this point in my career – is important.

“As far as gauging anything, I really don’t know. He’s a really tough guy; and a tough guy I need to beat. I think some people will notice if I beat Dan, but again, every fight for me at this point is important.”

When it comes to the remaining time on his career, Spratt feels that retirement isn’t too far off, but then again, he’s not one to look beyond what’s in front of him in the first place.

“You never know if you’ll be here tomorrow, so I take it day by day,” he said. “I don’t really look to the future. I do have some projected goals, but really I’m focusing on the day by day and on when the next fight will be.

“The minute it starts to feel like I don’t want to get up and train and it stops being fun, that’s when it’s time for me to hang it up. But right now I’m still feeling great and I have a great stable of young fighters coming up that keep pushing me. As long as I’m staying fulfilled and happy, there’s no telling how long I’ll be able to fight.”

Gotta respect a guy who still goes out and does it, with varying degrees of success, just because he loves the sport. He made a big mistake turning down the Matt Huyghes title fight way back, but I respect him all the same.